Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Call the Kops

A CHAMPIONS League game involving Liverpool was last night under investigation
as part of football’s biggest match-fixing probe.

The Premier League team and five times European champions defeated Hungarian
side Debrecen VSC 1-0 thanks to a Dirk Kuyt strike at Anfield in September
2009.

Debrecen goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic was later banned for two years for
failing to report a criminal gang had approached him before their game
against Fiorentina — also in Liverpool’s Champions League group that year.

Now sources close to an 18-month investigation by international crime agency
Europol have identified the Liverpool-Debrecen match as one of 380 allegedly
corrupted by a crooked syndicate in Singapore.

It is unclear precisely what the allegations around the game involve but there
is no suggestion that any Liverpool player or match official is implicated
in any corruption.

Last night a Liverpool spokesman insisted: “We have had absolutely no contact
from anyone in Europol — nothing whatsoever.”

Europol chief Rob Wainwright refused to confirm the identity of the English
fixture being investigated, citing ongoing criminal proceedings. But he made
a series of bombshell allegations about the integrity of soccer in Europe.

Speaking in The Hague, Holland, Mr Wainwright said the investigation had
identified a total of 425 corrupt officials, players and criminals in 15
countries. Fifty people have so far been arrested.

Most of the dodgy matches were played in the Turkish, German and Swiss
championships.

Two Champions League matches and some World Cup qualifiers are also suspected.

In Germany alone, a total of 16million euros (£13.7million) was placed on
rigged matches, making eight million euros (£6.8million) in profits.

The biggest individual bribe was said to be £121,000 but other bungs
regularly hit £80,000.

Mr Wainwright said: “This is the work of a suspected organised crime syndicate
based in Asia and operated with criminal networks around Europe.